Many watercraft are propelled by multiple outdrives (e.g., two, three or more) such as outboard motors, stern drives and pod drives for example. To steer the watercraft, the outdrives are pivoted relative to the rest of the watercraft. This is often achieved by hydraulic steering actuators. To control the steering of the watercraft, the driver turns a helm. In some steering systems, turning the helm pushes hydraulic fluid in one direction to the hydraulic steering actuators which causes them to steer the outdrives. In such systems, the helm acts as a hydraulic pump and is known as a hydraulic helm.
Multiple outdrives can be linked to ensure that they remain generally aligned with one another such that steering of one outdrive is replicated by the other outdrive(s). Such a link may be mechanical, commonly known as a “tie bar”, or hydraulic, known as a “liquid tie bar”. However, during use, outdrives linked by a liquid tie bar may become misaligned relative to one another due to, for example, hydraulic fluid leaks in the steering system of the watercraft. In order to realign the outdrives, typically an operator of the watercraft has to manually open a valve of the steering system and push one or more of the outdrives into alignment with the other outdrives. While this can reduce misalignment of the outdrives, it is a physical, time-consuming task that, moreover, typically requires the watercraft to be out of the water while it is being realigned.
There is therefore a desire for a hydraulic steering system for a watercraft that can realign the outdrives of the watercraft automatically.